~ The unlikely saga of a middle-aged mom of twin second-graders and an Athena triathlete ~

Friday, March 03, 2006

Baby talk

I'm up this morning, drinking my coffee and wishing my Weatherbug was reading about 20*F higher than the 33*F it reads right now. The girls have been indulging in TERRIBLE TWOS behavior for several days and I want to get them outside and exercise the hell out of them. Or else find a roll of duct tape and use it liberally.

Elisabeth can't watch half a DVD these days (yes, we've been employing the electronic babysitter a lot, on account of I'm a bad mom) before she gets really bored and starts punching buttons. Occasionally she finds the right combination to turn it the DVD off and turn the TV on (which is usually tuned to something like CNN which they don't really like much), but if she doesn't, both girls get all pissed off and start diversionary tactics like hair-pulling.

Catherine will then wander off and start playing with some toy like the ring stacker or a puzzle. Except when she can't get a piece to fit she will pitch a little fit and squeal and throw the piece and the big wooden puzzle halfway across the room. Or slam it into a piece of furniture or my leg. She's not doing well these days in her anger management lessons.

One bright note - we're still really worried about Elisabeth not talking and I end up coaching her on words every meal, and every time we do just about anything. Which must get really annoying for her, I'm sure. Most of the time she'll just babble some nonsense sounds and that will be as close as she can get. But yesterday when she wanted the Elmo video I got her to say "Moe". And when we arrived in the minivan in St. Michaels yesterday she said, all by herself, "Home!" Yay!! I think I might have to buy her an obnoxious little Elmo doll to celebrate.

I did an hour on the bike trainer last night watching CSI and Without A Trace which seemed like ten hours. FINALLY got through it! Why does an hour on the bike outside seem like nothing and inside it takes forever??

9 comments:

I hear you about the trainer ride feeling MUCH longer. I think it's because we're all antsy to be outside in the sunshine, not cooped up in the house.

I'm still thinking about Steelhead. It would be a fun race, but there's lots of financials that would be involved. It'll depend on if we renew our lease, if I can afford it, and if BF and I can get the days off work to go.

Ahh yes the terrible twos and the tempertantrums. Oh joy. Nancy, I guarantee you that Elizabeth will indeed talk, and that someday you will indeed wish she didn't-- probably after she completely humiliates you in public. My 16 year old daughter was kind enough to point out my sweaty @ss print on the weight machine seat to the entire gym the other night. My oldest son had a speach delay. We started with signing... "more" and "help" I believe. He was in speach therapy until 3rd grade, progress was slow, but he got there, and now, oy vay, gimme a gag.

i have to admit, though you may not want to hear this, 3 is sooooo much worse than 2. because then, they actually have an opinion on things and cannot be swayed as easily. seriously, give me a two year old anyday. mine is really good at being 3. really, really good. aye!

Congratulations on the words. You are NOT a bad mom! It is obvious you are spending a lot of time with her working on her speach. It is hard to be available 24-7. We actually watched a lot more tv when they were younger than we do now. When they were about 2.5 we just turned off the tv for about a month. They played games and forgot about it. Now it is a special treat. It will be easier for them to entertain themselves when they start using their imaginations.

Just wait until they hit three. Then they'll weigh more when they throw themselves around in fits, and they'll have reasoning behind their "no's." I find Ash is much more difficult to manage as a three year old. I can't wait until he's four!